Not very long ago,“sweet sixteen" marked a meaningful milestone in the life of a young woman, a pinnacle in the passage from puberty to womanhtxxl. Times have changed Todays society-in-flux is more complex, less clearly defined by traditional standards of conduct. As a result, today's sixteen-year-old may be anguished, without a sense of hope, instead of joyously celebrant and optimistic. Consider the following Today, it Is estimated that 25% of young women have had intercourse by age sixteen.1 And, today, teens are responsible for half of all out of wedlock births. Of these, some two-thirds are unplanned, unwanted.* One thing is painfullyclear.Teenage ignorance regarding sexuality is as prevalent as teenage sexual activity. Never before was there a more acute need for substantive instruction coupled with compassionate, reassuring counseling As disturbing as it may be. many teens are also in need of basic contraceptive guidance. In each of these areas, the physician can play an enormously important role. For many sexually active teenagers, the selection of a sub-50 meg oral contraceptive, like Brevicon. cm be a sound choice. Brevicon offers a rate of efficacy comparable to higher dose formulatioas and a well-accepted rate of menstrual irregularities. (Cycle incidence of breakthrough bleeding and amenorrhea is 51% and 1.0% respectively. Dropout rate due to menstrual irregularities is only 34% during the critical first three cycles.)* Brevicon coupled with counseling, compassion and reassurance. Not a panacea, but one go<xl way to help our teenagers avoid unwanted, unplanned births. Adolescent Sexuality: Clinical Challenge of the Transitional Years tion'vidc tympostunt • tiec.ck*cd circuit tdccau • to » raatoc c«k* tfkxcthimlronc- 0 5 with cihimI ruraiioi 0035 mg) A Zelnick and John R. Kanincr: Scxu s ^ i^ a n d contraceptive experience of young mai fled vtvxncn in the United States. 1976 and ggfi*' 1971. family Planning Penpccities 9:2, March/Apfi! 1977. 2. Zero Kipulauon Growth. Inc: Teenage Pregnancy A Major Problemfor Minors, January I976 •Based on clinical trials with H68 patients In 163*5 cycles. Note- Serious aswjdli&ttrirrdr side effects hav^been reporte following the use of all oral contraceptives. These include thromboembolic disease. I'ka.tc see pagc» 19 21 lot full prcurthing information Sr?if£X(fP MUWCAO 3 Client: McNeil. Agency: Sudler & Hennessey. D: Tom Haynes, Sheila Wolk. Illustr.: Leon Tadrick. (1975) Client: Pfizer. Agency: Sudler &Hennessey. AD: Frank Wagner. Client: Syntex. Agency: Vicom/FCB. AD: Lester Barnett. 'opy: Bob McCaffrey (1979).
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